You know what they say — it's not about the camera you have, it's what you do with it.

When Filipino Instagrammer Francis Olarte snapped a photo of his niece, he wasn't expecting it to be seen by million across the world. SEE ALSO: The future of the iPhone camera: 5x zoom, AI-powered, amazing in low lightFrancis, who currently resides in Singapore, went swimming with his niece Ava, when he decided he wanted to test his new water-resistant iPhone 7.He snapped a few photos of her and uploaded one of them to Instagram and Facebook — and it caught the attention of the folks at Apple. If you live in Singapore, you might recognise this picture near Rochor Road:IMAGE: APPLE/SUPPLIEDThe picture's also up in Shanghai:And in Bangkok:In London:Malaysia:India:Milan: And even Toronto:Needless to say, two-year-old Ava's now somewhat of a global superstar.She's even got her own Instagram page:The photo of Ava is actually Francis' third feature on the Apple World Gallery, which features the best photos taken on iPhones.His previous photos of fishermen on Inle Lake in Myanmar and a shot of Santorini island in Greece have also made it up on the billboards.So what does it take to get your photo on the big screen?"I love taking random shots [on a] day-to-day basis," said Francis.'The iPhone [has] changed how I take photos. I don't even carry a bulky camera on my travels...with some natural light and proper framing...[it] will be okay."

The next time you need some inspiration, take a page from Starbuck Malaysia's playbook. The coffee chain recently unveiled a series of new billboards all around the Klang Valley.

Here's the cool thing about them: the billboards were designed by their customers - and they didn't even know about it!

Over the course of a weekend in May, Starbucks Malaysia invited customers to showcase their creativity through their community art project called The Art of Expression.

Held in conjunction with Starbucks' summer campaign called “Show Your Flavour”, the Art of Expression project allows Malaysians from all walks of life to express themselves throught colours and art.So how did they 'trick' Malaysians into designing the billboards?On 20 May, Starbucks Malaysia placed eight blank canvases at selected outlets nationwide.

Customers who visited the stores were invited to leave their mark on the canvases - either by painting a picture, leaving a message or plainly just splash some colours on the sheet of paper.

According to Starbucks Malaysia, they wanted Malaysians from all walks of life to ‘show their flavour’ and showcase their artistic talents on these canvases.

So, all the colours, drawings and doodles you see on the billboard are "a genuine expression from the young to the old", Starbucks added.Look ma, I designed that billboard!Little did they know, Starbucks Malaysia had a plan for these canvases.

After the event, they set out to enhance the vibrant artworks into massive billboards. The individual canvases were combined into a giant masterpiece and showcased on billboards for all Malaysians to view!

If you want to check out the billboards, you can head over to Rawang Highway (KM 440.75 Sungai Choh – Rawang), The Mines, Kerinchi Highway, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, Juru Auto City and Tropicana City Mall.

To those of you who contributed to the billboards, congratulations: you're now a part-time billboard designer.

MEXICO CITY: A massive image of U.S. President Donald Trump as an alien intruder now towers above one of the busiest roads in Mexico City urging motorists to “Make America Great Again.”The gaudy billboard sports a caricature of Trump with a blue and red fleshless face beneath his blond hair. It went up above the two-tier inner city ring road known as the Periferico last week after failing to find takers in the United States.Backed with an American flag, the 13-by-7 metre (43-by-23 feet) placard of a finger-pointing Trump was originally intended to adorn a U.S. city, said its creator, Chicago-based artist Mitch O’Connell.“America is afraid to put up this tongue-in-cheek billboard,” O’Connell told Reuters by telephone. “Then Mexico came to mind because Trump started out his campaign by being cruel and mean to everyone in Mexico.”The White House had no comment on the sign.A real estate developer and reality TV star-turned politician, Trump sparked fury in Mexico when he launched his campaign for the presidency in 2015 with a pledge to build a massive border wall and accusations that Mexico sent rapists and drug runners across the border.At the time, O’Connell was working on a poster for a science-fiction and horror film festival featuring John Carpenter’s 1988 cult classic ‘They Live’ about aliens living incognito among humans. That project would inspire his vision of Trump.About four months ago, O’Connell set up a GoFundMe page to get the image onto a billboard. The campaign raised about $3,000.He failed in some 30 attempts at pitching the arresting image in Washington, Chicago and other U.S. cities. He said he found no U.S. company “wanted to touch it because it’s political.”In the end, the Trump billboard was placed in Mexico and will remain on display for about a month, said Jorge Alderete, an Argentine artist living in Mexico City who helped mount the billboard above the busy highway.“With every month that passed since I did the drawing two years ago, he has become more like that crazy alien,” O’Connell said. “It seems over time he became more and more like the movie, so it became more and more appropriate over time.”

GEORGE TOWN, June 7 — A purported charity dinner has raised eyebrows as to whether another multi-level investment scheme was in the offing, or if a previous one was being revived.Police have yet to detect anything amiss over the purported charity dinner on Sunday, but declined to confirm if it was organised by associates linked to the controversial YSLM multi-level marketing investment scheme founder Zhang Jian.AdvertisementZhang made headlines in 2014 when a billboard along the Penang Bridge had depicted him as the “future richest man in the world”.He remains under investigation although he had fled the country then amidst an investigation into elements of cheating in his flagship direct selling model, YSLM.Some three years ago, his company was investigated by Bank Negara and police for an alleged fraudulent direct selling scheme which drew ire from investors, believed to be thousands of Malaysians.Many bought into his elaborate investment scheme whereby investing a mere RM300, they were guaranteed returns between RM2,700 and RM6,800 a month.His get-rich-quick-scheme was shaped under a pyramid model where funds collected from China, Thailand and Malaysia were spread out across the three borders for the investors to receive huge returns.The company’s activities apparently ended in 2014 when he was reportedly arrested by Thai police on the island resort of Phuket. He was nabbed together with his wife Yoyo Wang Wen Fang, an aide Geng Lian Bao and three other unidentified persons.The cops’ contention was that he was being investigated for allegedly scamming RM605 million from thousands of people in China, Malaysia and Thailand.The Chinese embassy in Malaysia also issued a statement that YSLM was found to have conducted an illegal scheme in China.But there was no mention of whether he was charged in court or had fled elsewhere despite his arrest receiving much publicity.In Malaysia, his scheme did not receive approval from the authorities.There was no mention about Zhang and his schemes for three years until late last year where the first of a series of charity dinners were held. Gifts, including cars, were handed over to recipients who were allegedly deserving of help.It has since been suggested in the Chinese newspapers that since the start of this year, associates affiliated to him were setting up a new direct selling scheme.To mark the so-called reemergence of Zhang, dinners were held in Johor, Selangor and Sabah. On Sunday, a dinner was held at the residents’ association hall at Chai Leng Park, Penang, which saw some 1,000 people turn up.At all dinners, the diners offered the same demographic — women with shaved heads, men with dyed blonde hair, and most were China nationals.Attempts to contact the YSLM office in Penang proved futile as the numbers were inactive.Penang police chief Comm Datuk Chuah Ghee Lye told Malay Mail no offence was committed as it was just a dinner.“It was a normal gathering, strictly for members or associates only. Outsiders and the media were barred from entering so it was defined as a private function,” he said.“The police can only probe if a report was lodged about the dinner and if there elements of cheating.”Chuah said police were monitoring the charity dinners since Zhang remains a person of interest to the police.Earlier this year, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar was reported to have said Zhang’s activities were under scrutiny, especially over the motive behind the dinners.Read more at http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/is-future-richest-man-in-the-world-making-a-comeback#HzD55gvcmTtmfMfm.99

Even with the rapid growth of technology and social media platforms, billboards remain as one of the most important marketing tools used by advertisers.Keeping it simple, Starbucks Malaysia recently revealed its new design of billboards which are up all around the Klang Valley, and they are looking amazing!

While most companies would hire some of the country’s best artists and graphic designers to work on the artwork, the new Starbucks’ advertisement was actually designed by our Malaysian citizens from all walks of life, without them knowing it.

In line with Starbucks' summer campaign called “Show Your Flavour”, Starbucks Malaysia invited customers to showcase their creativity through a community art project called The Art of Expression which allowed Malaysians to express themselves through colours and art.

Placing eight blank canvases at selected outlets, customers of Starbucks Malaysia nationwide were “tricked” to embrace their artistic side when they were asked to paint on the blank sheets without knowing what the company had planned to do with these canvases.Pix: RojakDailyAccording to Starbucks Malaysia, as reported in RojakDaily, the project aimed to encourage netizens from all walks of life to share their journey on canvas. Customers were free to ‘show their flavour’, by painting, leaving messages, and splashing some colours.

Everything displayed on the billboard is "a genuine expression from the young to the old", Starbucks further explained.

Joining all the eight individual canvases together as a giant masterpiece, the vibrant artwork was then enhanced and set out into massive billboards that all Malaysians should be proud off.

Those who want to check out their artwork can make their way to Rawang Highway (KM 440.75 Sungai Choh – Rawang), The Mines, Kerinchi Highway, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, Juru Auto City and Tropicana City Mall.

A FEW years ago, Doug Martin, an engineer at Ford, read an article about an unusual billboard in Lima, Peru: It was designed to collect and filter water that condenses on the billboard’s cool surfaces when humid air rolls in from the coast.

The billboard produces hundreds of gallons of clean water every week. “Local residents can just come and fill jugs with high-quality water and take it home,” Martin said.

A short time later, a thought occurred to him: Why couldn’t a car produce drinking water, too? Air-conditioners in cars do something similar to the Peruvian billboard — generating water by removing moisture from the air. Then he and a Ford colleague, John Rollinger, went about developing a system that dispenses that moisture as cool and filtered drinking water to people inside the vehicle.

Now, Martin and Rollinger are working to turn their system into commercial technology.

“There are people in a lot of locations who don’t have easy access to fresh water — arid regions, remote regions,” Martin said. “But, even in a market like the United States, this might be a feature for people who want to have extremely pure, clean water and don’t want water bottles filling up the landfill.”

The drinking-water idea points to a wider change rippling through the global auto industry: As cars gain more computing power and adopt new technologies, engineers are finding ways to make cars do much more than take us from Point A to Point B.

These days, some cars can serve as Wi-Fi hot spots, backup power generators or remote controls for your home. In the future, they might also monitor your health; seat suppliers are tinkering with sensors that can monitor a driver’s heart rate and body temperature.

Karl Brauer, a senior director at Kelley Blue Book, the automotive research company, said cars were on a path that resembled the one taken by the iPhone.

“When the iPhone came out 10 years ago, you could make phone calls and text and access the Internet, but no one knew how far it would go with apps,” he said. “Cars are going the same way. They are going to serve us in ways and are going to be able to do things that we haven’t even conceived of yet.”

Myriad technologies are reshaping what automobiles can do. Most new car are already loaded with computer chips and have wireless communications links, and they are gaining more abilities in those areas every year. Underneath the sheet metal, new cars also usually have fewer mechanical devices and more electronic components than earlier models, a change that allows for advances simply by changing software.

All of this is allowing auto engineers to expand their imaginations.

That was the case at Ford. After dreaming up his drinking-water idea, Martin hesitated before entering it into an internal innovation competition. “I thought: ‘This is crazy. I hope nobody laughs at me,'” he recalled.

But eventually, he and Rollinger ran out to Home Depot and spent about US$100 (RM420) on hoses, tubing and plumbing fittings. They grabbed a standard automotive pump and a water filter, and commandeered a rectangular baking pan from Martin’s kitchen.

“This was really fun,” Rollinger said. “It was like doing a science project in school.”

They devised a way to collect water droplets from an air-conditioner’s condensing coils. Normally, that water drains onto the road beneath the car. In their system, the water is run through a filter and then stored in a reservoir.

Turn a switch inside the car, and a pump sends water from the reservoir up and out a spout mounted near the front console. The water arrives chilled because it condensed on the cool surfaces of the air-conditioner coils, Rollinger said.

The pair entered the prototype they built into Ford’s innovation contest last year, and it was selected as one of the winners. They have also applied for a patent.

For now, they are talking to suppliers and working on the business case for the idea. “I’m very hopeful of seeing it go into production,” Rollinger said.

Here’s a look at some other features that cars are starting to offer:

WI-FI HOT SPOTSeveral automakers are offering in-car Wi-Fi and Internet connections. For the manufacturers, they are easy add-ons because most modern cars need communication abilities for their navigation systems. General Motors, for example, offers a high-speed 4G link, and many models come with a free three-month trial.

POWER GENERATORFuel-cell cars are now on sale in California. They generate electricity through a chemical process that turns hydrogen into water. In a pinch, they can be used as a backup power source.The Toyota Mirai, for example, has an AC outlet in its trunk that can be used to run a refrigerator and other appliances during a blackout. GM recently built a three-ton fuel-cell truck for the Army, and the power-generating capability is one of the main features.

HOME REMOTEWhen cars connect to the Internet, they can communicate with our homes while on the road. An app is now available with Tesla models to communicate with homes wired for remote control, for example. Drivers have the potential to turn up the heat, turn lights on or off, and check in with home security system. NYT

Kinetic Malaysia is set to introduce its new framework which targets consumers on the move called Active Journey in Malaysia, come August this year. The framework which has been implemented by the agency globally is said to bring a new way of approaching out of home (OOH) media via a context-based planning approach that connects consumers’ physical and digital journeys.Kinetic, which is the OOH unit of one of the world’s largest communications services group WPP, said this new model offers the agency an ability to execute against a new OOH paradigm that is, moving from targeted attention to targeted action. It wants to strengthen its OOH advertising market in Malaysia via the new technology and innovation.In an exclusive interview with A+M, Kinetic Malaysia CEO Peter Choo said the personalised planning approach engages with audiences on the move, at specific locations that most influence their decisions and behaviors. This process also uses other variables such time of the day, social behaviors, weather and cultural moments to map out journeys, contextually target consumers, and deliver content as well as, experiences they may want to act upon directly.“We provide the brands the guidance towards asking relevant question from the vast of data collected via big data and we also partner with data providers which geo-locate consumers to understand where they are at a specific time in order to determine their behavioral pattern,” Choo said.A paradigm shift towards digitalComing to ad spend, Choo said the absolute dollar invested on OOH has dropped over past three years due to a slower economy, but the market share of OOH media invariably achieve higher share of voice. However, there is a change of paradigm in OOH media campaigns, with “ground-up activity” gaining momentum as well as advertisers getting more savvy in using OOH to support the activities which is “locational” sensitive.This is in contrast with the traditional way of extending a campaign core idea which is generally deployed in TV or print campaign and later extended to various form of media including OOH media. Moreover, recent trend of budget invested on traditional OOH media moving towards digital OOH media (electronic screens) is increasing at an alarming rate and this trend will continue, Choo added.“We foresee that before 2020, OOH digital media ad spend will surpass the traditional billboards which has been in existence since 1970s with over 15,000 structures cross Malaysia,” he said. He added that this is reminiscent of the 1990s, where the growth of billboard industry was spurred by the erection of Kodak giant billboard at Federal Highway, which set the record of being “World’s largest billboard”.He added,The dependence on traditional billboard format will decrease 10 to 12% year-on-year for the next three years.To remain competitive, Choo said, static OOH media format has to change in line with market shift. On that Kinetic which claims to the first mover in redefining its strategy which focuses on “people on the move” rather than an OOH media outfit, aims to lead the global market shift in such thinking.Mobile’s impact on OOHWith the shift of traditional TV viewing habit towards mobile phone, supported by news print advancing towards digital version – Kinetic said the situation provides the agency a good opportunity on its OOH media offering.“Mobile advertising is typically a form of OOH Media in true sense. Hence we are working hard to help our clients bridging between offline and online OOH solutions,” Choo said.Kinetic head of global innovation Dennis Kuperus was recently in Kuala Lumpur for a three-day visit to strengthen its Malaysian office and establish and innovation test bed with local clients. Kuperus is also currently working with a local conglomerate to support the newly launched innovation lab to create new ideas to capture consumers on the move by bringing extensive global experience and know-how to Malaysia.Choo said the project is still underway with details of collaboration will be announced soon, “The project is to bring our global innovation testbed ideas to young Malaysians who have the creative and innovative skills set but lacks the commercial attitude.”

SEKINCHAN: The DAP has admitted to placing the provocative billboard in the Sekinchan town centre.Amanah communications director Khalid Samad, however, said that DAP would not apologise to the BN or Jamal Yunos, the man shown on the billboard.“I said in a statement yesterday that I didn’t know (who put it up), and I really did not know,” Khalid told reporters at the DAP Sekinchan office today.“When the DAP admitted to putting it up, I met DAP publicity secretary Tony Pua to discuss the matter.“We agreed that we will not put it up again because it is provocative. We want to campaign positively.”Khalid said the DAP had placed the billboard to help the Tionghua community “let off steam” at Sungai Besar Umno chief Jamal Yunos, who had allegedly made racist statements against the Chinese.“Tony explained how the Chinese have held back their anger at Jamal who still has not retracted his unreasonable and insulting statements about the Chinese community, and against whom no action has been taken,” Khalid said.“They are also disappointed that PAS, who they had voted into power, is now making good with Umno.”Malaysiakini reported that Pua, who is also the Selangor DAP chairman, had admitted that his party was responsible for the billboard.“We did it. (We placed it) this evening (yesterday),” he said a few hours after the billboard was removed.The Petaling Jaya Utara lawmaker defended the action, however, saying that the billboard that alleged Jamal had made certain racist statements about the Chinese was merely pointing out the facts.“We were only pointing out what he (Jamal) as the Sungai Besar Umno chief had said about the Chinese,” he said.“We wanted to raise the issue. But the EC has decided that it is against electoral rules, so the billboard has been removed.”

Recently, many Malaysian drivers had to do a double take after looking at the unique billboards featuring Datuk David Arumugam and Datuk Vida by the highways. As part of Dairy Champ’s 2017 campaign, Alleycats’ singer, Datuk David Arumugam and founder of Vida Beauty, Datuk Seri Hasmizah Othman or better known as Datuk Vida, have been chosen as the ambassador for the brand. On the ads, Datuk Vida’s face was creatively embedded into an ais-kacang with the evaporated milk pouring from top that resembled a crown. The ais-kacang was covered in pink syrup because pink was Datuk Vida’s favourite colour. They didn’t skimp on the condiments such as corns and beans as well. Source: Marketing Magazine Source: Astro Awani For Datuk David’s ads, his face was embedded on a tea cup while the overflowing thick bubbles resembled his iconic afro hairstyle. Source: Lowyat Malaysia Source: The Star According to Marketing Magazine, these 2 creative ads promoting Dairy Champ’s 2 key products, namely Dairy Champ Tarik Lebih Buih Sweetened Creamer and Dairy Champ Evaporated Creamer. Netizen’s reactions have flooded the social media since the billboards have been unveiled. “I got the shock of my life when I saw this. But it’s really funny and creative,” said a netizen. “After I see this, I cannot un-see it. It changes teh tarik for me forever,” commented another netizen. It was also reported that these 2 ads were just the tip of the iceberg for the overall campaign. In the coming weeks, Malaysians can expect more creative and bold ads coming from Dairy Champ, Marketing Magazine reported. These 2 ads have won the heart of Malaysians by pairing two iconic Malaysians with two Malaysians favourite food. Kudos! This is marketing done right!

Read more at WOB: http://www.worldofbuzz.com/malaysians-surprised-funny-billboards-featuring-datuk-david-arumugam-datuk-vida/

Residents in Bukit Bandaraya are having sleepless nights over a digital billboard installed on the rooftop of a building in Jalan Maarof, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.Bukit Bandaraya Residents’ Association adviser Datuk Mumtaz Ali said the billboard emitted noise, causing residents to lose rest and sleep. “Some of the residents have complained that the noise is unbearable. The billboard should not have been installed there.“Furthermore, the billboard is too bright and distracts not only residents but also motorists.“We hope the Kuala Lumpur City Hall will take swift action to remove the billboard.”

ACTIONLINE:The Kuala Lumpur City Hall said the owner of the digital billboard had obtained approval from the local council to install the advertisement.Personnel from the City Hall had, on July 11, together with Bukit Bandaraya Residents’ Association members, inspected the digital billboard.“We found that the billboard did emit some noise.“An inspection was carried out by the billboard owner the following day.“The system was found to have some minor damage. The problem has since been resolved.”He said the owner had been instructed not to broadcast advertisements from midnight to wee hours of the morning.“We will monitor the situation.”